The Authenticity Project

Monica googles Julian Jessop and uncovers his successful art career as a portrait painter. She leaves work early to go to the cemetery where she finds Julian standing by the grave of Admiral Angus Whitewater.

Julian likes Monica’s Café, which he calls The Library because of its displays of books. He believes he left the notebook, in which someone can properly see him, at the right place: “Through that book, at least one person would see him—properly. And writing it had been a comfort, like loosening the laces on those uncomfortable shoes, letting his feet breathe a bit more easily” (12).

Timothy Hazard Ford, known as Hazard, lingers at the bar and spots an attractive woman. He flirts with the woman, whose name is Blanche, then invites her home with him. On their way out of the bar, Hazard runs into a brunette woman who spills a glass of wine on him. The next morning, he wakes up hungover and annoyed that Blanche is still in his bed. He sneaks out to work and remembers the brunette from the night before. He had been struck by the animosity with which the woman had looked at him; he hates himself, too.

Monica worked as a corporate lawyer before quitting to own and run a café. Money is tight, and Monica feels lonely as the boss: “She loved her team … but there was always a slight distance between them, because she was responsible for their livelihoods, and right now she couldn’t even manage her own” (19). The man she most recently dated, Duncan, ghosted her. She sifts through her social media pages to look at the marriage and baby announcements from her followers. On her way out, a large man bumps into her and she spills her wine on him. She hears him call her a “stupid bitch” as he walks away. She feels lonelier once she gets home, so she comforts herself with the green notebook, which she now sees is titled “The Authenticity Project”.

Hazard takes a hit of cocaine using his rolled-up resignation letter. He throws his iPhone into the toilet, desperate to cut off ties with his drug dealer. He returns to his table at the bar, where he finds a green notebook titled “The Authenticity Project.” He reads Julian’s entry and thinks that “Authenticity was something he could do without” (25). Then he reads Monica’s entry. She admits she wants a child and a husband. She writes about Tanya, a fellow corporate lawyer who killed herself when she realized she had no life outside of work. Inspired to avoid Tanya’s fate, Monica used a deceased relative’s inheritance to open her own business. Hazard recognizes “Monica’s Café” as the café across the street from his favorite bar. He has never gone in.

Hazard likes Julian’s entry but finds that Monica “reminded him of an ex-girlfriend of his who had […] presented him with a PowerPoint presentation on their relationship” (30). Monica writes that she plans on meeting Julian by advertising for an artist.

Julian ignores his neighbor’s note about accepting the freeholder’s offer. Julian had bought his cottage in 1961 and didn’t want to give it up to a developer. But if Julian doesn’t sign off on the offer, his neighbors’ homes will be devalued. Julian doesn’t want to give up his home because it “housed all his memories of the past and the only vision he could imagine of the future” (34). Julian drinks and admires his artwork on the walls. He spots an advertisement for an artist that he knows was made just for him.

Monica rejects a slew of applicants for the advertised art teacher job, waiting and hoping to hear from Julian. Monica wonders who picked up her entries in “The Authenticity Project.” Julian walks in and asks her about the advertisement. He accepts Monica’s request to teach an evening art course at her café.

Hazard is sick of Thailand’s beauty. The island of Koh Samui is supposed to be Hazard’s next chapter, an opportunity to break away from his poisonous habits back home. He dreams about cocaine and has no way of dealing with his rushes of emotions when he is sober. Before his departure, he had tried to return the notebook to Monica’s Café but stopped when he recognized the brunette woman he had run into.

In Thailand, Hazard decides to find Monica a boyfriend out of the group of tourists he meets. Hazard’s own love life has been on pause; he’s worried about having sex while sober. He meets a teacher from Sweden named Gunther, who is planning on visiting London. But when Gunther admits to having a girlfriend back home but still plans on sleeping around while on vacation, Hazard decides Gunther is not the man for Monica.

That night, Hazard writes in the green notebook.

Teaching art at Monica’s Café gives Julian a sense of purpose. Monica has had to turn people away from his classes. He has an urge to paint a portrait of Monica.

Monica has had to beg people to come to the art class. Julian arrives with a lobster for the students to paint. Monica finds the class liberating because she goes two hours without checking her phone. Despite the cost to her business, Monica hosts a dinner party for the students after class.

Hazard meets Roderick, an Englishman visiting his mother on the island. Roderick is divorced but open to marrying again. Hazard thinks his job as an estate agent and his general preppy demeanor would be a good match for Monica. Roderick reveals that he had a vasectomy, however, taking him out of the running.

Julian starts to make friends with his art students. Three weeks into their classes, a handsome Australian man attends, named Riley. Monica seems charmed by Riley, but Julian decides that Monica “was far too independent to be distracted by a pretty face. She had loftier ambitions than marriage and babies” (65).

Monica finds Riley physically and emotionally bewitching. He’s easygoing, a stark contrast to the uptight nature of busy London. Monica invites him to join her at Borough Market. She tries to let go of her annoyance when he’s late. She surprises herself by exploring street food with Riley. Monica reveals that her mother died of cancer. Riley kisses Monica on the London Bridge.